Fruits and vegetables are main sources of vitamins and minerals, thus, they are an essential element of arnhea lthy diet. On the other hand, they may be contaminated with toxic substance such as pesticidesrnres idues from farm area, heavy metals, etc. Regu lat ion of pesticide max imum residue limits in foodrncommodities was esta bli shed in many countries. For Ethiopia, this regulation exists by law but is not fullyrnenforced. Therefore, pesticide residues in frui ts and vegetables have not been well monito red. This studyrnis the fi rst extensive assessment to determine the levels of 2 1 pesticides res idues in lettuce, tomato,rnstrawberry and apple sold in Addi s Ababa markets. Residues of 13 organochlo rine pesticides (heptachl or,rnaldri n, dield ri n, endri n, y-chlo rdane, a -endosulfane, endosul fane slJirate, methoxychl or, a-BHC, p,p DDT,rnp,p DOE, p,p DOD and 8-BHC) ,3 organophosphate pesticides (malathion, chl opyri fos and diazinon )rnand 5 synthetic pyret hri od pesticides (A-cyhalotrhin, cy fl uthrin cypennethri n, fenvalerate andrndeltamethri n) were detected using gas chromatography electron capture detector, and confi rmed by gasrnchromatography mass spectrometry. The effect of wash ing with tap water was also investigated. Inrnaddition, KAP (Knowledge, attitude and practice) study was conducted on consumers. The samples werernprepared using the multi- residue Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) method.rnOf the 21 pesticides, 10 pesticides were detected in 87.5 % of fruit and vegetable samples. The residuernconcentrations range from 0.92 to 27.09 ~l g/kg, 5.37 to 198.6 ~l g/kg and 6.61 to 96.74 fig/kg forrnorganoch lorine, synthet ic pyrethriod and organophosphate pesticides respectively was observed. Lindanern(a-BHC and 8-BHC) and fe nvalerate were the most frequent organochl orine and synthetic pyrethriodrnpesticides, respecti vely. Lettuce was the most frequent contami nated sample. The concentration levels ofrnorganochlorine, synthetic pyrethriod and organophosphate pesticides residues in lettuce, apple andrnstrawberry exceeded the maximum residue limits adopted by Codex and/ or European Union. About 20%rnof the pesticide res idues were in this category. Washing lettuce and strawberry under funning waterrnsignificantly reduced (p < 0.05) lindane and endosulfan residues by 32% and 7%, respecti vely. Thernrunning water method did not significantly decrease synthetic pyrethri od res idues in all samples.rnKnowledge, atti tude and practice study show that consumers had a moderate level of Knowledge, attitudernand practice towards pesticide residues. This research suggests that routine monitori ng of pesticidernresidues is necessary to ensure the public health risks associated with eating contaminated fr ui ts andrnvegetables. Washi ng fruits and vegetables before consumption is adv isable as this helps to reduce at leastrnsome of the pesticide residues from entering into our daily intake.rnKey words: Assessment, Organochlorine pesticides, Organophosphate pest icides, synthetic pyrethri odrnpesticdes, frui ts and vegetable